The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has warned high institutions in the country against charging mobilisation fees for prospective corps members.
The NYSC Director of Press, Adenike Adeyemi, said this in Abuja on Wednesday.
She spoke against the backdrop of several reports received from students, who claim that they are being charged fees for NYSC mobilisation from their institutions.
She said that the NYSC has not mandated any institution to charge mobilisation fees on its behalf or using its name.
She said that students graduating from institutions were not in any way required to pay fees before, during or after mobilisation for the one-year national service.
Mrs. Adeyemi therefore advised corps producing institutions not to charge any fee before mobilising students.
“If institutions are charging fees for mobilisation in the pretext that it is compulsory for youth service, then it is wrong and we will counter this because students are not mandated to pay any fees to be mobilised for national service.
“NYSC has not asked any corps producing institution to charge any fees in its name or on its behalf for mobilisation for service.
“If any institution is doing so it is doing it sorely on its own.
“We have heard reports that some institutions are charging mobilisation fees; we will ensure we investigate this and urge the institutions involved if any not to do so.
“NYSC has not asked any institution to take anything from any student. I do not know what fees they are charging and what they are calling it but whatever they name it is not in any way related to or tied to the scheme.
“The problem is that we cannot tell or direct these institutions not to charge mobilisation fees in the schools; we can only ask them, urge them not to do so and not to tie it to the NYSC,” Mrs. Adeyemi said.
She said that the NYSC Director, Corps Mobilisation, was reaching out to institutions, who may be involved in this, and urged them not to do so either in the name of NYSC or on its behalf.